.Water Cycle

• Anticyclone

  ​A system of high pressure, causing high temperatures and unseasonably high evaporation rates.
• Aquifer


  a permeable or porous rock which stores water
• channel flow


  water flowing in a rivulet, stream or river
• convectional precipitation

  Solar radiation heats the air above the ground, causing it to rise, cool & condense forming precipitation (often as thunderstorms)
• Cryosphere


  the global water volume locked up within a frozen state (i.e. snow and ice)
• Depression​

  A system of low pressure, with fronts of precipitation where low and high pressure air masses meet.
• Desalination plant


  the conversion of seawater to freshwater, suitable for human consumption
• Desublimation​ 

  ​The change of state of water from gas to solid, without being a liquid (the opposite process to sublimation)
• Drainage basin


  the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries
• Drainage Density​

  The total length of all rivers & streams divided by the area of the

  drainage basin
• Drought​ 

  An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical average for the region (UN)
• Economic Water Scarcity

  When water resources are available but insufficient economic wealth limits access to it
• ENSO Cycles​

  El Nino Southern Oscillations - naturally occurring phenomena that involves the movement of warm water in the Equatorial Pacific.
• Evapotranspiration

  The combined total moisture transferred from the Earth to the atmosphere, through evaporation and transpiration
• Frontal Precipitation

  Where air masses of different temperatures meet at a front, one mass will be forced over another, causing precipitation beneath the front.
• Global Hydrological Cycle​ ​

  The continuous transfer of water between land, atmosphere and oceans. The Earth is a closed system.
• Groundwater Flow​ 

  Water moving horizontally through permeable or porous rock due to Gravity.
• Hydrological Drought​ ​

  Insufficient soil moisture to meet the needs of vegetation at a particular time
• Infiltration


  the movement of water vertically through the pores in soil
• Integrated Drainage Basin Management​ ​

  Establishing a frame of coordinated efforts between administrations (e.g. local government) and stakeholders (e.g businesses) to achieve balanced management of a basin (World Bank)
• Interception​

  Raindrops are prevented from falling directly onto the ground, instead hitting the leaves of a tree.
• Monsoon​ ​

  The drastic variation between wet and dry seasons for sub-tropical

  areas, caused by a changed prevailing wind. Can lead to annual flooding.
• Open System​ ​

  A system affected by external flows and inputs (such as a drainage basin, or a sediment cell)
• Percolation​ ​

  Water moving vertically from soil into permeable rock
• Physical Water Scarcity​ ​Physical Water Scarcity​ ​- A physical lack of available freshwater which cannot

  meet demand
• Physical Water Scarcity​ 

  A physical lack of available freshwater which cannot

  meet demand
• Relief Precipitation​ 

  Precipitation caused when air masses are forced to rise over high land, determined by the relief/ morphology of the land
• river regime


  the pattern of river discharge over a year
• runoff


  water flowing over the surface of the ground e.g. after precipitation or snowmelt
• Salinisation​ 

  Where salt water contaminates freshwater stores or soils, creating saline conditions and reducing human use/ consumption.
• Saltwater Encroachment

  The movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers or soils. This may be caused by sea level rise, storm surges or over-extraction
• Smart Irrigation​ 

  Providing crops with a water supply less than optimal, to make crops resistant to water shortages.
• storm hydrographic


  variation of river discharge over a short period of time (days)
• sublimation


  the change of state of water from solid to gas, without being a liquid
• throughflow 


  water moving horizontally through the soil due to gravity
• Transpiration

  The process through which water evaporates through the stomata in plants' leaves
• water budget


  the annual balance between inputs and outputs within a system
• water conservation


  strategies to reduce water usage and demand
• Water Recycling​ 

  The treatment and purification of waste water, to increase supply
• Water Scarcity​ 

  There are limited renewable water sources (between 500 and 1000 cubic metres per capita per year)